𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 ..

• moments in which nothing needs to be documented
• the practice of making things in their simplest ways
• my sincerity, wrapped up in gentleness
• the recipes my hands eventually learn without looking
• slow mornings, calm afternoons, comforting evenings
• hobbies that never become work
• the ability to be easily delighted
• saying thank you for ordinary kindnesses
• little notes tucked into gifts
• the habit of caring for what i already have
• keeping vases of flowers alive for as long as possible
• the desire to learn more about the native species living in my surrounding area
• the person i am when nobody is watching
• sewing by hand when a few careful stitches will do
• the little language that develops between two people who share a life
• my cats' trust in my hands
• beautiful handwriting in an increasingly typed world
• imaginary places i return to
• making art simply because something wanted to be made
• the desire to keep learning simply for pleasure
• the willingness to care deeply about small things
• cleaning dust from objects i treasure
• little patches of wilderness left undisturbed
• my willingness to play
• unfinished little projects waiting patiently for my return
• quiet companionship
• hospitality without occasion
• my private inner world
• contentment with enough
• the knowledge that not everything needs improving
• caring for belongings so that they might grow old with me
• the desire of making all sort of things by hand
• tenderness towards myself
• little rituals particular to one household
• knowing how to mend rather than replace
• making home feel welcoming when someone returns to it
• the feeling that there is always something left in the world to explore
• the ability to enjoy my own company
• the particular way our home feels in the evening
• my sense of wonder
• saving seeds for another season
• domestic knowledge that was once considered ordinary
• the pleasure of discovering something new
• the habit of daydreaming
• remembering the small preferences of people dear to me
• my attentiveness
• friendships that do not require constant conversation to remain real
• the scents that make my house feel like a home
• my sensitivity to beautiful things
• the stories attached to otherwise ordinary objects
• sitting down together for meals
• my patience
• skills passed quietly from one person to another
• the courage to remain soft
• the familiarity between myself and the landscape around my home
• doing one thing at a time, unhurriedly
• making things meant to last
• maintaining little traditions simply by continuing to do them
• the part of me that still believes a secret door might be somewhere
• family stories told often enough not to disappear
• my relationship with solitude
• the path through the grass that exists because i keep walking it
• evenings that become quieter as they grow darker
• having portions of the day that belong to nobody else
• my appreciation for things that grow lovelier with age
• the impulse to give ordinary objects personalities
• the plants entrusted to my windowsills and garden
• gratitude for ordinary abundance
• the innocence i carried from childhood
• beautiful, high quality clothes that are worth repairing
• things done inefficiently because the doing itself is pleasant
• affection for little things others might overlook
• old-fashioned ways of doing things when they remain useful
• my imagination
• the memories that have followed me for years
• the habit of stopping to look at something tiny